The Austin area has a burgeoning reputation as home for innovative alcoholic spirits.

But the city itself was without a whiskey distillery — at least since Prohibition — until recently. Still Austin Whiskey Co. opened in late September at The Yard, a creative commercial development on St. Elmo Road in South Austin.

Austin Business Journal photographer Arnold Wells recently toured the 9,600-square-foot space. Click on the gallery to follow along and learn how corn and grain are turned into three types of whiskey.

It was a time-consuming process for Still Austin Whiskey CEO and co-founder Chris Seals, who said he had to convince Texas grain farmers to produce more heirloom varieties in order to craft top-notch, locally sourced whiskey.

Construction also included lowering the 42-foot column still through the roof with a crane. The still was made by Forsyths Ltd. of Scotland.

Still Austin Whiskey launched with significant built-in capacity: The column still can produce up to 1,000 gallons of whiskey per day and the bottling station can produce 100 to 150 cases per hour.